The Masai Mara Wildlife and People
Count 2002

The great savanna of eastern Africa - cradle
of humankind, home to traditional nomadic pastoralists and their livestock, and
last refuge of some of the most spectacular wildlife populations on earth - are
in trouble.

Notwithstanding 20 years of highly committed wildlife conservation, more than
half of the big mammals of the Masai Mara region in Kenya has disappeared in just
the last 20 years. Most will go in the next 20 years if something new isn't done.

What is jeopardising work to conserve the Mara's priceless wildlife populations
is a lack of a unified effort, by all concerned, to join together to seek solutions.
The Mara count is one such effort: a joint venture by pastoral peoples, conservationists,
private industry, land managers and researchers to create an unparalled set of
information to form the foundation of future decisions to conserve wildlife and
develop pastoral peoples.

Serengeti-Mara
ecosystem. For millions of years, our human ancestors have lived side-by-side
with diverse wildlife herds in the ecosystem.
More: Click Here

Why
count people, wildlife and livestock? To maintain tourism income and
conserve biodiversity, we must know who and what is where.More: Click Here

What
do we count? We try detailed information on an entire ecosystem in a
very short time. More: Click Here

How
do we count? We invented a new method to count people, livestock and
wildlife.More: Click Here

Why
count again in 2002? We all want to keep track of the big changes happening
in the Mara.More: Click Here

What
did we find? See maps and analysis showing distribution of wildlife,
people, livestock and vegetation in 1999 and 2002.More: Click Here